The Only Way We Will Lose This War is if We Stop Fighting

Dear OnePeterFive donors, supporters and readers,

 

The enemies of Christ rely on us to have short memories. In the era of smart phones, pieces of technology do all the thinking for us – to delight of the oligarchs and heretics. The only way they can win is by convincing us to forget the great deeds of our forefathers and lose hope in God’s promises.

If we forget, we will become spiritually exhausted and stop fighting.

The enemies of Holy Church are weak. They know they will lose the war if they try to fight fair. So they have to resort to deception, power plays and spiritual abuse to achieve their ends. Their central tactic is the manipulation of our memories.

This was on full display with Traditionis Custodes, which boldly attempted to rewrite recent history regarding the work of Benedict, staking its claim on an assertion that Benedict himself pre-emptively said was “just absolutely false!”

So right now as we head into 2022, let’s remember our roots, lest we forget. As it is written:

And these likewise are they that are sown on the stony ground: who when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but are only for a time: and then when tribulation and persecution ariseth for the word they are presently scandalized (Mk. iv. 16-17).

You may be new to the Traditional movement. You may have just discovered the Latin Mass of our forefathers and received it “with joy.” But unless you become rooted, you will fall away and lose your faith. As we said in our editorial stance, we must return to our roots in the traditional movement at a time like this, and that is what we intend to do with OnePeterFive. Please subscribe and donate to this effort, about which we will have much to say. For now, let’s take a brief moment at the end of this year to think about where we came from and then root ourselves in prayer.

Our Fathers’ Fight and their Enemies’ Self-Destruction

The traditional movement has been a story of revival. Since its very humble beginnings with Una Voce in 1965 and after the Indult of 1971, the movement has been achieving, by grace, the main goal of Vatican II – a new springtime of faith (as Litwinski observed recently).

It has survived and thrived while the pope and most bishops have actively persecuted the movement. Like the early Church springing from the seed of martyrdom, the Traditional movement has only grown and flourished under persecution. Since Summorum Pontificum in 2007, this true springtime has multiplied in more lay faithful revived in their faith, religious orders growing and priestly vocations springing up.

By contrast, the “spirit of Vatican II” efforts to compromise with the world have been a story of decline. Bishops and priests have continually tried to find a way to appeal to the young and be “relevant,” in the face of more and more indifference from the world. Statistics show that parishes of the Novus Ordo are not flourishing with Catholic faith (despite notable exceptions like the reverent Novus Ordo celebrated here and here). Their uglification of churches and the liturgy has been a disaster, so that the next generation could not stomach to accept it and pass it down to their own children.

The Wolves and the Devastated Vineyard

This “auto-demolition of the Church” (as Paul VI called it) was orchestrated by a notable “fifth column” in the Church more conspicuous since Vatican II (but certainly present before!). These enemies openly declared their intention to promote heresy within the Church and undermine the dogma of the Real Presence among other things.[1]

These wicked men spread the abuse of the Communion in the Hand which weak bishops accepted around the world. These weak men refused to manfully defend the sheep from the wolves.

Instead, most bishops showed themselves to be hirelings who ran from the wolves. The heretics then destroyed the faith of little children through their evil sacrileges and liturgical abuses.

Our fathers who fought for the Roman Rite and loved the Church, always advocated the traditional solution to the wolves from the beginning: the salutary “charitable anathema.” Dietrich von Hildebrand told Paul VI to do this in 1965 but he refused, as did all his successors.[2]

Instead, the “medicine of mercy” was given to the wolves, who happily tore apart the devotion of the faithful and scattered them from the Ark of Salvation.

The False Appeal to Vatican II

All along, bishops said they were following Vatican II and hoping for a new springtime. In one sense they were following the Council, since the Council abandoned the charitable anathema. But at the same time, they were allowing all manner of heresy and wickedness “in the spirit of Vatican II” which contradicted even the documents themselves. As Ratzinger pointed out, the implementation of the liturgical reform by Paul VI actually betrayed the Vatican II Constitution on the Liturgy itself, causing him to restore the Latin Mass and advocate for an official “Reform of the Reform” and “New Liturgical Movement.”

Moreover, if Vatican II wanted renewal, then the bishops were certainly destroying the things that were actually effective at achieving this end.

In the name of a new springtime, they have made the churches cold, dark, and lifeless. They have persecuted the traditionalists for being “against Vatican II” when in fact these parishes accept more doctrines contained in Vatican II than the average Novus Ordo parish.

With too few exceptions, the bishops have been not only hirelings, but have been carried about with every wind of doctrine by the wickedness of men, by cunning craftiness (Eph. iv. 14).

All of this came to a head in 2020. That’s when the mask came off.

Anno Domini, MMXX

It is in the liturgy that the destruction has been most conspicuous, most intense, and most painful for the faithful. For the liturgy is nothing less than the throne of Christ Himself in the Blessed Sacrament, where the faithful go to worship their King; to hold intimate communion with the divine and Sacred Heart of Jesus. The Blessed Sacrament is the beating heart of the Church. Sacramental grace is the one thing necessary (Lk. x. 42) for the Christian. This Sacrament is more necessary than air to breath.

In fact, Vatican II spoke eloquently on this point:

Taking part in the Eucharistic sacrifice, which is the source and summit of the whole Christian life, [the faithful] offer the Divine Victim to God, and offer themselves along with It. Thus both by reason of the offering and through Holy Communion all take part in this liturgical service, not indeed, all in the same way but each in that way which is proper to himself. Strengthened in Holy Communion by the Body of Christ, they then manifest in a concrete way that unity of the people of God which is suitably signified and wondrously brought about by this most august sacrament (Lumen Gentium, 11).

“This most august sacrament,” alas, was no better than a “non-essential service” to most bishops, who, in 2020, quickly closed down the “source and summit” of our faith across the world, welcoming government handouts from the Marxist globalists instead.

After decades of running away while the wolves destroyed faith in the Blessed Sacrament, it was sadly not surprising when the bishops revealed how weak their faith really was, and how little they were willing to fight for their sheep to give them the heavenly food for their souls.

2020 showed the faithful, however, which priests and (the few bishops) who actually believed in Catholicism anymore, and were willing to disobey unjust laws (from the hierarchy or the government) in order to obey God and save souls.

Many of these priests and faithful were traditionalists who “offer the Divine Victim to God” according to the rite of our forefathers, the ancient Roman Rite contained in the Missal of 1962.

Traditionalists refused to go along with impious Bishops who told them that the Blessed Sacrament was a non-essential service.

Instead, their parishes grew as many faithful found Trad parishes to be some of the only parishes still offering the Holy Mass. In fact, as Matthew Plese observed in an important article, the Traditional movement thrived through online outreach during 2020.

The Enemies Strikes Back

Meanwhile, Andrea Grillo and his cronies were spending 2020 circulating a petition to destroy the Latin Mass. Somehow they gained greater influence over key people in the Vatican to put together the embarrassing errors of Traditionis Custodes.

If “liturgical experts” wrote that document, they certainly didn’t do their homework (indeed, it doesn’t pass “liturgical history 101”).

We know that powerful men were attempting to destroy Benedict’s work since Cardinal Sarah was rebuked for uttering the phrase “Reform of the Reform” back in 2016, and it seems Mr. Grillo finally got his way.

But our enemies have sorely underestimated us.

We Will Win (Again), if We Only Fight this Fight

So now on December 31st, 2021, this all brings us back to where our fathers were in 1970 when the Latin Mass was seemingly abrogated by Paul VI.

Except in our case, we are in a much better position than they were. We have so much that they did not have.

We have their own toils and suffering that passed down the ancient rite to us.

We have the work of Pope Benedict which vindicated our movement based on the authority of Tradition (not primarily in order to reconcile the SSPX, as Traditionis Custodes falsely claims).

We have hundreds of pages of scholarship which repudiates the liturgical and historical claims which once convinced Paul VI to attempt an abrogation of the Latin Mass.

We have Cardinals, Bishops, and priests on our side arguing on these bases against the papalism that would defend the errors of Traditionis Custodes against Tradition, historical fact, and reason itself.

We hold the internet and media as weapons of our movement, particularly Mass of the Ages, whose episode I alone is approaching 1.1 million views (with Episodes II and III on the way!). (See also the great Una Voce videos).

We have Catholic fathers who are willing to be men of God and fight for their children to have the Latin Mass.

Yet more than this: we have the truth on our side.

Let the pope, all the bishops and all the governments of the world harass us and shut us out of our churches and force us into a weekly family dry Mass. Nothing will conquer the truth. No amount of lies will overcome it. I will not fear thousands of the people surrounding me: arise, O Lord; save me, O my God (Ps. iii. 7).

The only way we will lose this fight is if we lose hope and stop fighting. Yet Our Lady and all the saints are leading us to victory in 2022 and beyond. We will never stop fighting, but will win this fight for Tradition and liberate the Latin Mass from the “Jailers [Custodes] of Tradition” just like our fathers did before us.

It is with this spirit of our fathers that we greet the new calendar year, and give thanks to Almighty God, beseeching Him to forgive us our sins, pardon our enemies, and give us the victory for His own greater glory and the salvation of souls. Let us place our hope in God, Who is faithful to His promises, as the Prophet declares:

If my people had heard me: if Israel had walked in my ways: I should soon have humbled their enemies, and laid my hand on them that troubled them (Ps. lxxx. 14-15).

In the hearts of Jesus, Mary and Joseph,

 

T. S. Flanders
Editor
6th Day of Christmas

 

***

 

Prayers for New Years

(taken from the Blessed Be God prayer book published by Preserving Christian Publications).

An indulgence of 10 years is granted to all the faithful, who with at least contrite heart, during the last half hour of the year and the first half hour of the following year, shall pray to the Most Holy Trinity in thanksgiving for benefits received; beseeching the same Holy Trinity for peace among Christian nations, for concord among Christian princes, for the conversion of sinners, and for the triumph of holy Mother Church and its visible head, the Roman Pontiff. (Editor’s note: this indulgence has now been made plenary under less conditions.)

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, amen.

Acts of Thanksgiving to the Most Holy Trinity

We offer to the Most Holy Trinity the merits of Jesus Christ in thanksgiving for the Precious Blood which He shed in the Garden for us; and by His merits we beseech the divine majesty to grant us the pardon of all our sins. Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.

We offer to the Most Holy Trinity the merits of Jesus Christ, in thanksgiving for His most precious death endured on the cross for us; and by His merits we beseech the divine majesty to free us from the punishment due to our sins. Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.

We offer to the Most Holy Trinity the merits of Jesus Christ, in thanksgiving for His unspeakable charity, by which He descended from heaven to earth to take upon Himself our flesh, and to suffer and die for us on the cross; and by His merits we beseech the divine majesty to bring our souls to the glory of heaven after our death. Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.

Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, behold us prostrate in Thy divine presence. We humble ourselves profoundly, and beg of Thee pardon for our sins.

We adore Thee, omnipotent Father, and with the outpouring of our hearts we thank Thee for having given us Thy divine Son Jesus to be our Redeemer, and for having left Him with us to the consummation of the world in the most august Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, in which mystery of faith and love He reveals to us the wonders of His Sacred Heart. Glory Be.

O Divine Word, most adorable Jesus, we adore Thee in Thy Sacrament, and with the outpouring of our hearts we thank Thee for having taken human flesh and for having made Thyself, for our redemption, priest and victim in the sacrifice of the cross, a sacrifice which, by an excess of the love of Thy adorable Heart, Thou dost renew every moment on our altars throughout the world. O supreme Priest, O divine Victim, grant that we may honor the sacrifie of the Most Holy Eucharist with the united homage of most holy Mary, and of all Thy Church, in triumph, in suffering, and in warfare. We offer ourselves wholly to Thee, and since Thou dost deign to have victims associated with Thee, accept our offering, and, uniting it with Thine, bless us. Glory Be.

O Divine Spirit and Paraclete, we adore Thee, and with the out-pouring of our hearts we thank Thee for having, with so much love for us, wrought the ineffable blessing of the Incarnation of the divine Word, a benefit which is continually being extended and increased in the Most Holy Eucharist. By this adorable mystery of the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, grant to us and to all sinners Thy grace; pour out upon us and upon all redeemed souls Thy holy gifts, but in a special manner bestow them upon Holy Church, the spouse of Jesus Christ and our mother, upon its visible head, the Supreme Pontiff, upon all the cardinals, the bishops, and pastors of souls, on all priests, and on all the other ministers of the sanctuary. Glory Be.

An Act of Thanksgiving for the Blessings of the Past Year

O God, the beginning and the end of all things, Who art always the selfsame, and Whose years fail not, we now, at the close of another year, kneel in adoration before Thee, and offer Thee our deepest gratitude for the fatherly care with which Thou hast watched over us during the past, for the many times Thou hast shielded us from evils of soul and body, and for the numberless blessings, both temporal and spiritual, which Thou hast showered upon us. May it please Thee to accept the homage of our grateful hearts which we offer Thee in union with the infinite thanksgiving of Thy divine Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, Who with Thee liveth and reigneth forever and ever, amen.

Holy God, we praise thy name.
God of all, we bow before thee.
All on earth your scepter claim;
all in heav’n above adore thee.
Infinite thy vast domain,
everlasting is thy reign.

Hark, the loud celestial hymn,
angel choirs above are raising.
Cherubim and seraphim,
in unceasing chorus praising,
fill the heav’ns with sweet accord:
Holy, holy, holy Lord.

Lo! the apostolic train
join thy sacred name to hallow.
Prophets swell the glad refrain,
and the blessed martyrs follow,
and, from morn till set of sun,
through the church the song goes on.

Holy Author, Holy Word,
Holy Spirit, three we name thee;
still, one holy voice is heard:
undivided God, we claim thee,
and adoring bend the knee,
while we own the mystery.

V. Let us bless the Father and the Son with the Holy Ghost.
R. Let us praise and exalt Him above all forever.

Let us pray. O God Whose mercy is without measure, and the treasure of Whose goodness is infinite, we give thanks to Thy most comforting Majesty for the gifts conferred upon us, and we beg Thee continually through Thy clemency, that Thou Who grantest the requests of those who ask Thee, mayest not abandon them now but rather dispose them for future rewards. Through Christ our Lord, amen.

Supplications and Resolutions for the New Year

O Eternal Father, after having thanked Thy infinite bounty for Thy exceeding benefits in the past, we humbly implore pardon for our manifold sins and negligences, for the time we have consumed and wasted in vanities and in things that profit not unto salvation, and for the woeful want of correspondence with Thy graces which we have so habitually manifested.

But filled with confidence in Thy mercy, so lavishly displayed in a multitude of ways, we ask Thy blessing upon our good purposes and resolutions. For now we renew the sacred promises we made in Baptism, when we first became Thy children and heirs of the heavenly kingdom, and we renounce Satan with all his works and pomps.

Firmly convinced that the salvation of our immortal souls is the one great business of life, the purpose for which we have come into the world, we solemnly resolve for the future not only to do all in our power to avoid very grievous sin in though word and deed but also to shun every unnecessary occasion that might imperil our souls. We further resolve to fulfill with greater exactness and fidelity the duties of our station in life, to give more attention to our progress in things spiritual, to be more devoted to holy Mass, to receive the Sacraments more frequently, and to pray more often and more fervently.

Bless, O my God, these good resolutions which we offer to Thee at this, the threshold of a new year. Give us Thy precious grace and make us truly wise. The days and years of our life are passing so swiftly away. Help us, in Thy mercy, to utilize them, as we ought to do, for Thy greater honor and glory, for the good our neighbor, and for our sanctification. The night cometh in which no man can work longer; soon, at best, we shall have to appear before Thee to render an account of our stewardship. May we then be found worthy to receive from Thee that divine welcome: “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of thy Lord.”

Prayer for a Blessing on the New Year

O Sacred and adorable Trinity, hear our prayers on behalf of our holy Father Pope Francis, our Bishops, our clergy, and for all that are in authority over us. Bless, we beseech Thee, during the coming year, the whole Catholic Church; convert heretics and unbelievers; touch the hearts of sinners that they may return to Thy friendship; give prosperity to our country and peace among the nations of the world; pour down Thy blessings upon our friends, relatives, and acquaintances, and upon our enemies, if we have any; assist the poor and the sick; have pity on the souls of those whom this year has taken from us; and do Thou be merciful to those who during the new year will be summoned before Thy judgment seat. May all our actions be preceded by Thy inspirations and carried on by Thy assistance, so that all our prayers and works, having been begun in Thee, may likewise be ended through Thee, amen.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, amen.

 

[1] We refer here to the work of late heretic Hans Küng and his influential journal Concilium, and the so-called “anthropocentric turn” of Karl Rahner, the Dutch Catechism and other such things which prompted Paul VI to issue the Credo of the People of God. These were openly heretical bishops and priests for decades, besides whatever machinations were present secretly in the “Vatican Mafia.”

[2] Interview with Dr. Alice von Hildebrand, Latin Mass Magazine, Summer 2001 <http://www.latinmassmagazine.com/articles/articles_2001_su_hildebran.html>. Accessed November 23, 2019.

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